possible move to a hosted commenting system

It’s become pretty clear today that the load of comments and comment spammers are a big problem here. So I’m looking at these options for offloading the heavy lifting to a commenting service: Echo, Disqus, and IntenseDebate.

Benefits:

• threaded commenting
• user profiles you can use across other sites (or not; guest commenting would be enabled)
• connect your comments with Facebook and Twitter

(all of which would be possible if I could manage the upgrade to the newest version of Movable Type, but that’s looking increasingly impossible)

Downside:

• I’m not certain, but it looks like I wouldn’t be able to set up a way to flag comments by subscribers (though with some more research I might find a way).

So far, I think I like Echo best, but it will cost around $50 per month.

Let me know what experiences you have had — good, bad, or indifferent — with any of these commenting systems.

*headdesk*

I need a glass of wine…

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Would the Movable Type upgrade deal with the Spamming problem also? Or are you stuck paying for a service in order to avoid the DOS issues?

Is the Movable Type upgrade something that someone knowledgeable could do for you quickly on a one-time basis, and that would save you from paying a monthly fee? Or is that just going to increase your hassle in the long run?

MaryAnn

Would the Movable Type upgrade deal with the Spamming problem also?

Impossible to tell until an upgrade was implemented. Probably not, though: Comment spammers are constantly coming up with new ways to get around the ways we come up with to defeat them.

Is the Movable Type upgrade something that someone knowledgeable could do for you quickly on a one-time basis

Probably not, because this site is so highly customized: it’s not using any standard MT templates.

and that would save you from paying a monthly fee?

The more I look into Disqus, the more I think it will work fine for FlickFilosopher.com. And Disqus is free.

Lisa

Have a glass on me!

Orangutan

I have used Disqus (have a handle with them, too), and have never had an issue. They don’t seem to like mobile phones much, but that’s hardly enough to qualify as a drawback, and could very well have been just the site that I was on at the time.

MaryAnn

They don’t seem to like mobile phones much,

They have some new mobile thing, apparently.

And I just heard from one of the developers, whom I’d emailed, if there was a way for me to highlight subscribers, and he said such a feature is on its way soon.

Disqus is looking better and better. I may go with it very soon. Assuming it actually works with this version of Movable Type. That’s something I’m not sure about yet.

I detest Disqus, not least for the spelling, but if it’s free, I’ll live with it.

Isobel

I don’t like Disqus – it’s been in use on a couple of other sites I frequent and I often have trouble loading the comments on Explorer (never have a problem on Safari at home, though), or with it swallowing and not posting a comment I’ve spent ages typing.

DaveTM

I also have used Disqus and it’s not too bad.

On an aside I just have to wonder why the comment spammers keep working on getting their crap posted. Is anyone stupid enough to actually read them and go to whatever they are trying to plug? I can’t imagine it’s really worth the time it takes to setup.

But then again as George Carlin once said “Think of how stupid an average person is and then realize that half of them are stupider than that.”

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